122 – Taekwondo and Korean History Explains Everything (Part 1) w/ Jay

On Southpaw, we speak to Jay from Red Star Over Asia (@RedStarOverAsia) about his article "When Taekwondo Ruled the World": https://www.midwesternmarx.com/articles/when-taekwondo-ruled-the-world-by-jay

In part 1, we discuss:

• Churches, cults, political sects, and taekwondo
• Taekwondo's final form: juche
• How romanization sucks
• Using karate against the Japanese
• Showmanship and mythmaking
• The Bruce Lee template
• The Great Man rightwing mythology
• Belt wrestling
• The myth of democracy in Korea
• Martial arts as a rightwing tool
• Taekwondo's historical baggage
• Kanto massacre and Korean ethnic cleansing
• Decolonial movements and sabotage
• Brazilian jiu-jitsu using the same anticommunist ethnonationalist template, except Brazil admired Japanese Imperialism whereas Korea tried to distance itself from it
• Syngman Rhee's role in taekwondo mythic origin story
• The myth of Hwarang aristocrat warriors
• A Japanese collaborator's coup and taekwondo's acceleration
• Korean social movements and land redistribution from collaborators
• Toxic masculinity admiring your oppressors
• Cobra Kai
• Ethnonationalism and pro-Americanism
• Anti-Americanism as a red flag for international rightwingers
• Korea as a US project in neoliberalism, anticommunism, and ethnonationalism run by former Japanese collaborators

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• Part 2: https://ko-fi.com/post/123-Taekwondo-and-Korean-History-Explains-Everyt-X8X3BE8QR
• Red Star Over Asia: https://anchor.fm/red-star-over-asia
• A Killing Art by Alex Gillis: https://amzn.to/3LI2D5I
• Cobra Kai, the Twilight of American Empire, and the Allure of Paramilitary Violence: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/cobra-kai-the-twilight-of-american-empire-and-the-allure-of-paramilitary-violence/
• 120 – Squid Game and the Long Shadow of American Empire: https://ko-fi.com/post/120-Squid-Game-and-the-Long-Shadow-of-American-E-W7W27LG4S

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